A Tale for the Wise

The saying that our lady searched high and low for love
Is an understatement.
She searched the world, always looking for the fireworks,
The swelling music, and the chirping of the birds.
She searched so often that she hardly spent a night at home,
But she was always met with nothing but disappointment.

What our woman, who traveled so often, did not realize,
Was that while she searched for her warrior, her huntsman, her soldier,
The farm boy out yonder gathering cattle and shoveling manure
Was truly, deeply, desperately, everlastingly, and unconditionally in love with her.

He had no badges or medals of honor to prove his worth,
But he had the love in his eyes, the respect in his voice, and the honesty in his touch.
He was not made of gold or of coins to provide a comfortable throne,
But he had the reputation of yesterday, the evidence of today, and the promise of tomorrow.
But, to our dismay and to his broken heart, she searched on.
Unaware and unsatisfied.

She searched the enchanted forest to no avail.
She sailed seas to meet only the next shore.
She kissed frogs and drunkards in hopes she’d break the spell
Of her uncaptured, lonely heart,
In hopes that she would somehow end her search for true loves kiss.

After every disappointing departure of our lady,
The silent but overflowing heart of our lad weakened once more.
She remained unaware as he put on a smile and bid her adieu,
Wishing her luck in finding what she was looking for,
Knowing that she was exactly what he needed.

Years passed, and nothing changed but the youth in our strangers.
Her eyes grew tired and his heart grew weak,
As she strained the blues of her eyes,
Peering over foreign mountains looking for happily ever after,
And he further distressed his aching heart
as her frequent departures tugged at its stings.

Perhaps it was the sickness of a broken heart
That sent our aging man into a bed of delusion -- unable to eat or stand.
Out of good will, our lady extended the hand of an old friend
and attempted to nurse our gentleman back to health.

Many bowls of soup passed time between the two,
Who until now had spoken only greetings and goodbyes.
It was only one night when our fragile man was talking in his sleep,
Did he utter the words, “I love you.”

Our lady, knitting in her neighboring rocker, froze mid stitch,
and asked the sleeping man to repeat what he said.
He replied:
“Day or night, my lady. Near or far, my beauty.
Wherever your travels may lead you,
You have my heart in your pocket.”

With this, the yarn met the ground as our lady crossed to the sickbed.
And she put her wrinkled hand on his wrinkled cheek,
And she looked upon his pale face,
And she closed her tired eyes,
And thought back to the time she had wasted
Looking for what was in her back yard.

She gently kissed the forehead of the mumbling man,
And crossed back to her knitting.
She sighed a breath of deep relief in knowing that,
After all the years of travel,
After all the pain of being alone,
After all the heartache of kissing faceless souls,
The gold of her heart had not gone unnoticed.

A few more days passed before our man sat up in bed,
Where he was greeted with a hand on his chest
Of the neighboring beauty who grew wise to his secret.
She smiled sweetly and brushed back his silver hair,
And together, without words, they knew their story had begun.

Love brought them many happy years,
Living in their quiet cottage together.
But it would be a fallacy to say that things would stay this way forever.
For as every life has an abrupt beginning, it also has an untimely end.

Though the heart of the old man was filled with the love of his wife,
It did not replace the weakness of his valves
When one day, while gathering the grain,
He fell to the ground and was met with the tears of his
Frightened wife.

He put his hand on her wet cheek and smiled through his beard,
and she leaned forward and kissed him more truly and passionately
Than she had ever thought possible.
He whispered goodbye, for he thought it was the end,
And she shook her head and put her hand to his heart
And said:
““Day or night, my husband. Near or far, my love.
Wherever your travels may lead you,
You have my heart in your pocket.”

He smiled and she smiled,
As they lay in the grass together.
Soon her husband was gone, but she stayed there still,
Finding only comfort next to him.
Finally, she looked up at the star that she had not wished on in years,
and made one final wish.

She closed her eyes, and they would not open again,
As she went to travel with her husband
through enchanted forests and over seas,
Wherever the wind would guide them, they journeyed together.
For true love stories never really end.